The present invention pertains to a ceiling mount for a medical light as well as a system and process using a ceiling mount and a medical light.
Medical lights are usually arranged on the ceiling of a medical treatment room by means of a multiply articulated arm system. The light or lights can be pivoted by means of the multiply articulated arm system both in height and laterally into a desired position.
A medical light of this type has become known from EP 548 589 B1. The suspension of the light body comprises horizontal arms or arms sloped to the horizontal, which are connected to one another by individual hinges. The light body can thus be positioned at a suitable point above a medical treatment table.
The drawback of the prior-art light is that due to the length of the arms and the number of hinges, it can be pivoted only over a limited range within the treatment room. In case of the usual fastening of the multiply articulated arm system on the ceiling, only positions of the light body above the treatment table can be normally obtained. For certain forms of treatment, e.g., stereotactic procedures, it must be possible to illuminate a patient from any position. This cannot be achieved with prior-art medical lights designed for mounting on the ceiling.
The basic object of the present invention is to improve a ceiling mount for a medical light such that the light body can be positioned on all sides of the medical treatment table in a simple manner.
According to the invention, a ceiling mount for a medical light is provided with a bracket system connected by hinges with a mounting flange and with a light body. A lifting arm is provided that can be actuated by a motor on a ceiling bracket. A lifting arm has at its free end a bracket guided in parallel for a mounting flange.
The advantage of the present invention is essentially that the mounting flange of the bracket system is fastened at the end of a lifting arm pivotable by means of a motor around an axis and the bracket system can be prepositioned as a result within the medical treatment room such that the final setting of the light body can be performed from the position of the lifting arm. For fastening the bracket system, the lifting arm has a bracket at its end. This bracket is displaced in parallel to itself in the different positions that the lifting arm can assume, so that the bracket system located thereon can also be displaced in parallel to itself. Due to the motor-actuated lifting arm, which can also be blocked by a drive motor in its preselected position, the mounting flange of the bracket system has a fixed reference point, from which the desired position of the light body can be set. The combination of a lifting arm which can be pivoted by means of a motor and can also be blocked with a freely positionable bracket system also offers the advantage that no measures, going beyond the usual amount need to be taken for balancing the weight within the bracket system, are needed. As a result a number of commercially available bracket systems designed for fastening on a ceiling can be used. Even though lifting arms pivotable by means of a motor have generally been known from the state of the art, these had not been used for fastening treatment and monitoring devices before. The combination of a lifting arm that can be pivoted by means of a motor with a bracket system for a light body opens up the possibility of obtaining a new field of use for pivotable light bodies with existing components. This possibility of combination, which is surprising for the person skilled in the art, has not been hitherto recognized, even though it is favorable in terms of costs and can be embodied without appreciable design modification efforts.
The bracket system advantageously comprises a horizontal arm with a mounting flange connected to it in an articulated manner, a vertical arm and a pivoting arm. A first hinge is arranged between the horizontal arm and the vertical arm and a second hinge is arranged between the vertical arm and the pivoting arm. A first pivot axis of the first hinge extends flush with the first vertical arm and a second pivot axis of the second hinge is directed at right angles to the first pivot axis.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawing and will be explained in greater detail below. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.